CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 EUROPEAN UNION COMMUNITY PLANT VARIETY OFFICE PROTOCOL FOR DISTINCTNESS, UNIFORMITY AND STABILITY TESTS Pyrus communis (L.) PEAR UPOV Species Code: PYRUS_COM Adopted on 27/03/2003 CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 I SUBJECT OF THE PROTOCOL The protocol describes the technical procedures to be followed in order to meet the Council Regulation 2100/94 on Community Plant Variety Rights. The technical procedures have been agreed by the Administrative Council and are based on general UPOV Document TG/1/3 and UPOV Guideline TG/15/3 dated 04/05/2000 for the conduct of tests for Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability. This protocol applies to fruit varieties of Pyrus communis L. II SUBMISSION OF PLANT MATERIAL 1. The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) is responsible for informing the applicant of • the closing date for the receipt of plant material; • the minimum amount and quality of plant material required; • the examination office to which material is to be sent. A sub-sample of the material submitted for test will be held in the variety collection as the definitive sample of the candidate variety. The applicant is responsible for ensuring compliance with any customs and plant health requirements. 2. Final dates for receipt of documentation and material by the Examination Office The final dates for receipt of requests, technical questionnaires and the final date or submission period for plant material will be decided by the CPVO and each Examination Office chosen. The Examination Office is responsible for immediately acknowledging the receipt of requests for testing, and technical questionnaires. Immediately after the closing date for the receipt of plant material the Examination Office should inform the CPVO whether acceptable plant material has been received or not. However if unsatisfactory plant material is submitted the CPVO should be informed as soon as possible. 3. Plant material requirements Survey of final dates for request for technical examination and sending of Technical Questionnaire by the CPVO as well as submission date of plant material by the applicant. 2 CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 Request of Plant material Plant material requirements examination 8 virus-tested one year-old trees grafted on FRANCE 28/02 31/03 Cognassier (BA29). GERMANY 10 virus-tested one year-old trees on 28/02 31/03 Quince A rootstock with Beurre Hardy interstock. UNITED KINGDOM 10 virus-tested one year-old trees grafted on 28/02 31/03 Quince A rootstock with Beurre Hardy or Comice interstock. Quality of plants: Should not be less than the standards laid down in Council Directives 77/93/EEC and 92/34/EEC and their implementing measures. The plant material must be free from : Insects, mites and nematodes at all stages of their development - Anarsia lineatella - Eriosoma lanigerum - Scale insects, in particular: Epidiaspis leperii, Pseudaulacaspis pentagona, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus Bacteria - Agrobacterisum tumefaciens - Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae - Erwinia amylovora Fungi - Armillariella mellea - Chondrostereum pupureum - Nectria galligena - Phytophthora spp. - Rosellinia necatrix - Verticillium spp. Viruses and virus-like organisms All Chemical treatment: The plant material must not have undergone any treatment unless the CPVO and the examination office allow or request such treatment. If it has been treated, full details of the treatment must be given. 3 CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 Labelling of individual - Species plants in the sample : - File number of the application allocated by the CPVO - Breeder's reference - Examination office’s reference (if known) - Name of applicant - The phrase “On request of the CPVO” III CONDUCT OF TESTS 1. Variety collection A variety collection will be maintained for the purpose of establishing distinctness of the candidate varieties in test. A variety collection may contain both living material and descriptive information. A variety will be included in a variety collection only if plant material is available to make a technical examination. Pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation No. 2100/94, the basis for a collection should be the following: • varieties listed or protected at the EU level or at least in one of the EEA Member States; • varieties protected in other UPOV Member States; • any other variety in common knowledge. The composition of the variety collection in each Examination Office depends on the environmental conditions in which the Examination Office is located. Variety collections will be held under conditions which ensure the long term maintenance of each accession. It is the responsibility of Examination Offices to replace reference material which has deteriorated or become depleted. Replacement material can only be introduced if appropriate tests confirm conformity with the existing reference material. If any difficulties arise for the replacement of reference material, Examination Offices must inform the CPVO. If authentic plant material of a variety cannot be supplied to an Examination Office the variety will be removed from the variety collection. 4 CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 2. Material to be examined Candidate varieties will be directly compared with other candidates for Community plant variety rights tested at the same Examination Office, and with appropriate varieties in the variety collection. When necessary an Examination Office may also include other candidates and varieties. Examination Offices should therefore make efforts to co-ordinate the work with other Offices involved in DUS testing of pear. There should be at least an exchange of technical questionnaires for each candidate variety, and during the test period, Examination Offices should notify each other and the CPVO of candidate varieties which are likely to present problems in establishing distinctness. In order to solve particular problems Examination Offices may exchange plant material. 3. Characteristics to be used The characteristics to be used in DUS tests and preparation of descriptions shall be those referred to in the Annex 1. All the characteristics shall be used, providing that observation of a characteristic is not rendered impossible by the expression of any other characteristic, or the expression of a characteristic is prevented by the environmental conditions under which the test is conducted. In the latter case, the CPVO should be informed. In addition the existence of some other regulation e.g. plant health, may make the observation of the characteristic impossible. The Administrative Council empowers the President, in accordance with Article 23 of Commission Regulation N° 1239/95, to insert additional characteristics and their expression in respect of a variety. 4. Grouping of varieties The varieties and candidates to be compared will be divided into groups to facilitate the assessment of distinctness. Characteristics which are suitable for grouping purposes are those which are known from experience not to vary, or to vary only slightly, within a variety and which in their various states of expression are fairly evenly distributed throughout the collection. In the case of continuous grouping characteristics overlapping states of expression between adjacent groups is required to reduce the risks of incorrect allocation of candidates to groups. The characters used for grouping could be the following: a) Fruit : position of maximum diameter (characteristic 40) b) Fruit : size (characteristic 41) c) Fruit : ground colour of skin (characteristic 44) d) Time of beginning of flowering (characteristic 64) e) Time of maturity for consumption (characteristic 65) 5 CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 5. Trial designs and growing conditions The minimum duration of tests (independent growing cycles) will normally include at least two satisfactory crops of fruit. Tests will be carried out under conditions ensuring normal growth. The size of the plots will be such that plants or parts of plants may be removed for measuring and counting without prejudice to the observations which must be made up to the end of the growing period. The test design is as follows Each test should be designed to result in a total of, at least, 5 tree for varieties resulting from crossing and 10 trees from varieties obtained from mutations. In varieties resulting from crossing, unless otherwise indicated, all observations determined by measuring or counting should be made on 2 parts taken from each of 5 plants. In varieties resulting from mutation, unless otherwise indicated, all observations determined by measuring or counting should be mad on 1 part taken from each of 10 plants. All observations on the fruit should be made in minimum on 10 typical fruits, selected from 5 trees. Unless otherwise stated, all observations on the tree and on the one-year-old shoot should be made during winter on trees that have fruited at least once. The length of the internodes should be observed in the middle of the shoot. Unless otherwise stated, all observations on the flower should be made on fully developed flowers at the beginning of anther dehiscence. Unless otherwise stated, all observations on the leaf should be made in summer on fully developed leaves from the middle third of a well developed current season shoot. Unless otherwise stated, all observations on the fruit should be made on fruits at the time of maturity for consumption. 6. Special tests In accordance with Article 83(3) of Council Regulation No. 2100/94 an applicant may claim either in the Technical Questionnaire or during the test that a candidate has a characteristic which would be helpful in establishing distinctness. If such a claim is made and is supported by reliable technical data, a special test may be undertaken providing that a technically acceptable test procedure can be devised. Special tests will be undertaken, with the agreement of the President of CPVO, where distinctness is unlikely to be shown using the characters listed in the protocol. 6 CPVO-TP/015/1 Final Date: 27/03/2003 7. Standards for decisions a) Distinctness A candidate variety will be considered to be distinct if it meets the requirements of Article 7 of Council Regulation No.